Foresight
by BentReeds
Summary: The prediction of many monks a hundred years ago sends one person hurtling forward through time. Can she help the Avatar save the world in time?
1. An Unwilling Sacrifice

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Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar: The Last Airbender

Chapter One: Unwilling Sacrifice

It was the dawn of the third day. Nearly forty-eight hours of fighting all led to the lower sanctuary of the Northern Air temple. Ai-Li was exhausted. Ai-Li_ the Prodigy_ was exhausted. She could not possibly predict the strength of the five grandmasters around her. Miko the Monsoon stood silent to the right-front of her. Her surrogate father, normally light and carefree, returned to his defensive stance at the sound of more fire blasts. The hallway around them shook. Miko was strangely quiet, saving his words of wisdom for a time when there might be a greater need.

Ai-Li found herself reminiscing in what could possibly be the last few seconds of her life. She always relied on Miko to tell her what was right, to teach her the secrets of airbending, to guide her. What if, suddenly, he was no longer there? To her right was Tan the Two-faced, who saw every side of each argument. He was consistently fair and unbiased. If he had not been a monk she could have predicted him to be a judge, or lawyer. Tan already had written close to half of the existing rules for becoming a respectful monk and airbender.

Next to Tan was Wei the Wishful. Always dreaming, always thinking, always... never quite there. He was known for his crazy half-baked ideas and creative inferences. His bending was inventive and new. Every move was molded with his own personal flair, a style un-mastered by anyone but himself. Ai-Li enjoyed spending her afternoons in his workshop, trying new flyers. Only Ai-Li and Wei were known to fly on top of their flyers, instead of on bottom. A new practice, but not entirely frowned upon by others. Ai-Li would miss him sorely.

_Why was she thinking like that?_ _She would see him again, wouldn't she? Yes, she had to._ On the other side of Miko was Lu the Loyal. She knew very little of him. Lu came to the Northern Air Temple at the age of a teenager. As a youth, he dabbled in the darker arts of airbending, and as a result, tending to remain isolated and quiet. He was a grandmaster, nonetheless, and worthy of respect. But his cold and calculating attitude diverted students and other monks away from him. Ai-Li had never taken lessons from him. Now she wished she had. And next to Lu...?

"Where is the grandmaster Tien?" She asked aloud.

"He is gone," was the reply, "you have taken his place." Miko's voice was laden with sorrow and untold emotion. He did not look at her. Perhaps he could not bear to fall apart.

_So Tien has fallen? _She choked back tears.

"Why are they attacking?" She snapped. "We haven't done _anything!_ The air nomads are nothing but respectful and peaceful. What have we done to deserve this!" _Nothing made sense._

"We have done nothing," Tan spoke. "And we have done everything. The Fire Lord has been brewing this war since before you were born. He only needed..." Tan paused. "...The right window of opportunity."

"But what have we _done_?" Ai-Li asked again.

"The air nomads are like a nation also," Tan replied calmly to the shouts and screams above, "A nation of free people. Free to think as we wish, free to act as we wish, and free to travel, to spread peace and prosperity. We are the embodiment of an idea." Tan heaved a great sigh. "By merely existing we stand against the Fire Lord—"

"Than we have signed our own death warrant." mumbled Lu. "We have doomed ourselves. The Wind Council blatantly stood against Sozin—"

"What else should we have done?!" Miko retorted, "Given in to the whims of a dangerous tyrant? Signed away our souls? Throw away our values and morals to live another day?"

"Perhaps to fight another day..." Lu whispered. "The winds are changing. Even I can feel it. The bitter monk locked up in his tower could have predicted what is happening now."

"What _is_ happening now?"

"We're _dying_." Lu growled. "We are _dying_."

"Humans may die, but ideas live together." Wei the Wishful's voice sounded like pleasant chimes against Lu's dark rumble. "As Tan said, we are the embodiment of an idea."

The ground shook with unseen blasts from above.

"Why are we waiting here?!" Ai-Li shouted.

"And ideas do not die... they simply fade away, until they are thought of again."

"You have taken Tien's place as the youngest of us." Miko repeated.

"But _why_ are we waiting _here_? We should be above, helping the other airbenders fight of the invaders!"

"Tien had a plan," Miko looked at her, "should the temple ever fall."

"Our physical bodies may decay, but as long as a memory of us remains, as long as our ideals carry on..." Wei continued dreamily, oblivious to the rumbles and the other conversation, "...we have never truly left."

Ai-Li sighed in frustration. "Will someone _tell_ me what's going on? What plan?"

"You must understand." Miko continued. "Fire Lord Sozin will stop at nothing to completely eliminate the airbending culture." He made a cutting motion with his right hand. "He will hunt us in the morning and kill us in the evening. No one is safe, no one who bears the blue arrows of an airbender." He pointed to his bald head and pushed up his sleeves to reveal his tattoos.

"That's genocide!" Pieces of the ceiling began to fall in front of her. "He can't possibly get away with it! Someone will stop him! The Avatar will stop him!"

She had said it. Everyone fell silent. Miko moved to place a hand on her shoulder.

"We don't know the fate of the Avatar." He said grimly. "He is young, and we have not heard from our Southern brothers in days. We do not even know if he has accepted his destiny. We do not know..." He trailed off. "We do not even know if he still lives."

Ai-Li's eyes filled with horror. "Who will keep balance...?"

"The balance is destroyed." Lu intervened. "But hopefully, the airbenders don't have to be. We can live to fight another day."

"I'm confused..."

A crash resounded at the front of the hallway. Miko moved in front to send a blast of twisted wind that slammed two firebenders into the wall. Four men replaced the two fallen ones.

"Do it!" Tan yelled as he sent a slice of air toward the man on the far right. He fell backward as the man next to him sent a blast of fire that Wei intercepted. "Lu! Pull her back!"

"I'm sorry Ai-Li." Lu said gruffly as he grabbed me from behind.

"What are you doing!" She yelled, "Where are you taking me!"

Lu dragged her back into the secret sanctuary. If Ai-Li had not been being hauled, she would have stood captivated by the tall carved pillars and ancient airbender drawings. Colors that she had not imagined flooded her vision. With one flick of the wrist Lu opened a secret door in the sanctum, a door hidden from the outside world for thousands of years.

"You will understand in time."

"Let me GO!" She screamed. "I want to fight! I want to die with you!"

"As the youngest of us you have taken Tien's place."

Ai-Li was forced into the doorway of the hidden room.

"We live with you."

The world went black.

Time slowed as Ai-Li watched the door close in slow motion. There was fire, then there was water, earth and air. Colors spun in circles and shattered into more colors and time slowed, slowed, slowed...

Ai-Li gasped and shot up. She looked around her. Trees... tall trees with many vines shadowed the ground around her, which was wet with various puddles and small streams. It was almost a swamp-like terrain. Her back felt cold, so did her arms. And the back of her hands began to burn.

"Ah!" She winced in pain. Her vision was blurry but she could see well enough to tell something odd was happening to her. She looked down to try to look at her hands but something red flooded her sight. She screamed.

Blood? No, blood was a liquid. It must be fire, but fire burns. She slowly touched the redness. It felt soft.

"It's my hair...!" She whispered softly to herself. "Hair! I have hair?" She puzzled. She stumbled to stand up and fell backwards as the burning on the back of her hands began to move. "What's happening to me?" She felt small simmers of panic begin to grown within her. "Where am I?"

The burning sensation moved slowly and painfully up her arms. Tears streamed down her face. It moved down her back along her spine and up her head. The burn then split down her legs. "This... hurts..." She panted. She rolled along the ground and into the water. It did nothing to soothe the sensation. And as soon as it started, it ended at her feet. She lay panting in the puddle. Her head was pounding.

She looked down at her hands and feet. "My tattoos!" She yelled. "They're gone!" She angrily got to her feet and swung around. "Who did this to me! What did you do!" Ai-Li growled and stamped her feet like a child. "Give me back my tattoos!"

"It was necessary." A voice behind her stated.

"Lu!" Ai-Li pointed a finger at his chest. "What have you done to me! I always knew! I always thought you were... wrong."

"I will not address that," Lu stated sharply. "Your tattoos are gone because it is necessary for where you will be heading. You are right now..." he gestured to the world around him, "...in the spirit world, of sorts."

"How can I _sort of_ be in the spirit world."

"You are temporarily displaced." Lu answered. "Now sit down, it's time for our first lesson."

Ai-Li viewed him suspiciously but sat on a rock in the center of the clearing. In the back of her mind she wondered briefly if that had been there before.

"It is a shame..." Lu continued, "...that you never came to me for tutelage. I could have taught you many things, but unfortunately my reputation got ahead of me and reached you before I could. I suppose that is why I was the only grandmaster that never had the _honor_ to teach the great airbending prodigy of the Northern Air Temple."

Ai-Li sighed and nodded.

"I see," He stated coldly and folded his hands under the sleeves of his monk robe. "How sad. I hope you have learned, by now, to never judge a person on their past reputation. Yes, I was a troubled youth, but that should have told you that I had much wisdom to impart."

Ai-Li nodded. Her mind was still whirring with unspoken questions. She chose the foremost one in her mind. "What's happened to me?"

"Yes..." Lu's eyes went distant. "That's a good question."

"Are you going to answer it?" Ai-Li bluntly asked with traces of sarcasm.

"In time, but before we get to _you_ I must first explain what has happened to _me_." Lu replied. "I am dead."

Ai-Li almost laughed. "You can't be dead, you're talking to me."

"In the spirit sense, yes, I am talking to you, but my body has passed on. Yours however has not, it is with you right now." Lu sighed and rubbed his temples. "You see, Ai-Li, Sozin would have stopped at nothing to destroy our kind. He raided every air temple there ever was. Our people are all dead. Everyone but you..." He pointed to me, "...you survived because you had to. You had to keep our way and our lessons alive."

"Fire Lord Sozin harnessed the deadly power of a comet that only visits our world every one hundred years. It acts as a second son to firebenders. There power is increased beyond imagining. As peaceful monks, we never stood a chance. That is why a haven was created, long ago, by older power that we do not understand anymore."

"The room you put me in."

"Yes." Lu sighed. "It was not supposed to be you. Tien had thought of it originally. We all assumed he would make the ultimate sacrifice. Not you, so young and innocent." Lu trailed off.

"So this room, it brought me here? It did this to me." She motioned to her tattoos and hair.

"Fortunately, yes." Lu said.

"_Fortunately_!" Ai-Li almost yelled. "I've lost—"

"It will be necessary for you to be inconspicuous. This room was created to send you forward in time. For how long I do not know. What I do know is that if our prediction was correct, the airbenders were hunted and destroyed. We do not want you to meet the same fate. It is your job to revive our race. To bring us back. It will be difficult, as Wei said; we are the embodiment of an idea. You must bring the idea of freedom back into the lives of the future people."

"I have to... reintroduce airbending," Ai-Li said more to herself than anyone.

"Yes. This task was supposed to be entrusted to Tien. But at his death, which I witnessed, his dying wish was for you to take his place. If not for you, we do not know if airbending would exist at all. Now you are a hope. There are some complications... of course..."

"Uh... complications?" Ai-Li reiterated dumbly. "What sort of... complications?

"You are not a grandmaster, which we will fix shortly." He grabbed her hands and pulled up. "Soon you will awaken so we must act fast."

Lu laid a hand on her forehead and took a deep cleansing breath, Ai-Li followed his example. "I am going to impart to you all that the grandmasters know. All that Wei knew, all that Tan knew, all that Tien knew, all that I knew, and all that Miko knew."

"Miko..." Ai-Li focused on his face.

"Do you know why they call me Lu the Loyal?" Lu asked softly.

"Why?"

"Because I never told a secret I knew. You will get this knowledge too, unfortunately. It may help you, it may destroy you. I dabbled in the darker arts of airbending." Ai-Li could feel a chill travel up her spine. "Now, do you except the task entrusted to you?"

Ai-Li paused, then nodded. It was not as if she had any choice.

"Good, than the real lesson can begin."

With that Ai-Li saw stars enter her vision. Then for the second time, everything went dark. She never saw, or heard from any of the grandmasters again. But history was about to change their plans, and everything they had predicted was about to be proven wrong. For, when Ai-Li awakened, the first thing she saw was a blue tattoo.

Aang stood holding his glider close to his heart in the Northern Air Temple's sanctum. The Fire Nation insignia seemed to ridicule him from the ceiling. He heaved a heavy sigh.

"The one room I thought would be untouched has been serving as a war machine for the Fire Nation." He glared angrily at the symbols all around him. "It's been a silent killer."

"Aang," Katara said from behind him. "Sokka's been looking all over for you. I thought I would find you here. We're all packed to go to the North Pole. It's time to leave."

"I know Katara." He shuffled his feet and looked at the ground. "I just wish... I just wish I had one piece of home that was untouched by the Fire Nation. I thought this room..."

"I know what you thought, we all thought that. But look what you _do _have Aang!" Katara turned him around to face her. "You have Appa and Momo, both of whom are with you now, to remind you of everyone."

Aang smiled briefly. "Yeah, but what about when they're gone, when _I'm_ gone?" He gestured around him. "I just want one piece of airbender history to be untouched by firebenders. I want some part of my home to be pure and good. It just makes me so mad that all those paintings were destroyed. A part of my history is lost forever! And no one did anything about it!" He angrily shot a gust of wind into the air that ripped the Fire Nation flag off the wall. The wall behind it was unveiled.

"Look, Aang," Katara pointed. "That wall is untouched."

True enough, the wall that Aang had revealed was as unchanged as the day it had been built, with ancient flowing symbols spiraling up the sides and a depiction of an airbender drawn with vibrant colors. "Wow," Katara said. "That's really beautiful."

"It is." Aang was awed. Then he blushed at his outburst of anger. "Katara... do you think... do you think you could help me take down these flags?" He rubbed the back of his neck. "I'm sorry for being so moody."

"Sure, Aang, I'd be happy to." Katara smiled. "And there's no need to apologize, you're my friend. It's alright to be angry every once and awhile. I think I would feel the same way if it were my tribe's history."

Together, they slowly unveiled each wall. The flags they stacked in the center of the room. Teo's father, the mechanist, had already gotten rid of whatever machinery was left over in this room after the Fire Nation attempted to retake the Northern Air Temple. The battle had been long and tiring, but as long as they had the skies, it turned out, the Fire Nation was no match for them. The temple was safe for now. And today, Aang, Sokka, and Katara would be leaving for the Northern Water Tribe to find a waterbending master.

"This room must have been cherished." Katara ran her hand down one of the walls. "You can tell these drawings were well taken care of and preserved."

"But the engravings on the wall..." Aang said. "On only that wall," he pointed to the first one they had revealed, "Are they painted in gold."

"You're right," Katara pondered. "That's odd."

"It's not odd," Aang said, "It was on purpose! The monks wanted this wall to stand out! I bet it leads to another room!" Aang began to explain hopefully. "The sanctuary in the Eastern Air Temple is the same. There are many hidden rooms all throughout that temple! You have to use airbending to open them."

"Aang, that sounds like a long shot." Katara was skeptic. "A hidden room attached to a hidden room?"

"Look at the other drawings! They're pictures of airbending moves. We just have to follow the one on that wall." He ran up to it and began to study the picture. "It looks pretty simple a twist of the wrist and a step. I bet it sends a slice around the door's edges and it will slide open."

"If you want to try..."

"Yes, I do."

Aang readied himself. He took a deep breath and slid his right foot forward and around his front. He spun his wrist in a circle and the air hit the wall in a smooth arc. Nothing happened.

"Aang..." Katara began sympathetically as Sokka ran into the room.

"Why are you guys in here wasting time? We need to get a move on. The North Pole's two days away... What's going on?" He took in Aang's disappointed face and Katara's grimace.

"Nothing, it was stupid—"

"Aang and I were just—"

"What's THAT?!" Sokka pointed to the wall in confusion and alarm. The symbols held an eerie glow to them. Slowly, with a lot of flying dust, a door in the center began to slide open.

"It worked!" Aang joyfully cried. He leapt into the air and grabbed the door. He began to physically pull it, helping the ancient door along its way. "Come on guys! Help me!" he grunted.

Katara and Sokka sprang to action as they each began to force the door along its way. Aang took the other side and began to push. They eventually got it to swing entirely ajar. Aang grinned triumphantly and grabbed the firefly lamp that Sokka had discarded near the entrance. He ran to the entrance of the hidden compartment. Slowly and carefully, he took one step into the dark doorway.

"Uh, guys? I think you better see this."

"What is it, Aang?"

"More firebender stuff?" Sokka asked.

"No..." Aang said, Katara gasped. "I think it's a person."


	2. A Twist in Time

Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar: The Last Airbender

Chapter Two: A Twist in Time

Ai-Li's eyes blurred open. She saw blue. Blue, a color she remembered. The blue began to take form. It was an arrow. What was so important about blue arrow? She gasped.

Air. Lu! Time. The temple. The Fire Lord. The Air Nomads!

She shot up straight.

"Whoa!" She heard a boy say. Next thing she knew a sharp boomerang was pointed at her neck. "Who are you?!"

Ai-Li paused to contemplate the simply question. If what Lu said was the truth than she was in the Northern Air Temple and sometime in the future. But the arrow! Her eyes shot to the younger boy.

"An airbender..." She breathed. Another airbender! There was hope! Maybe she wouldn't have to do anything. Maybe it was only a year or two in the future. Maybe the Air Nomads were alive and well. She wouldn't have to be any sort of hero. She could go back to being herself! She heaved a sigh of relief. No hard work for Ai-Li. Good. She still didn't know where she was in time. She didn't know who these people were, but a huge weight had just been lifted off her shoulders.

"You're an airbender?" The blue boy said doubtfully. "I highly doubt that. How did you get here? Where are you from?"

"I am from here." Ai-Li said without thinking, than shut her mouth.

What if they were from the Fire Nation? Lu had said something about being inconspicuous. She had just blown her cover. Wait. They would have been attacking the boy with the blue tattoos than. Not only that, but they were clearly from one of the Watertribes from the look of their clothing. She was panicking for nothing. She had to keep a cool head and stop overthinking things.

"_You're_ from the Northern Air Temple?" The girl in blue asked.

Was that astonishment in her voice? A feeling of dread began to grown in Ai-Li's stomach.

"Uh..."

Suddenly, the boy with the blue tattoos made a comeback. "Guys, she might be telling the truth!" He began to say rapidly. "There are fables, of course, about spirit rooms and their hidden purposes. What if she's from one-hundred years ago! What if she's from the Northern Air Temple!"

"Uh... What?" Ai-Li sat stunned. One hundred years? Was that how long she was in here? The boy with the blue tattoos must have been psychic, or a ridiculously good guesser. So... everyone she knew was gone. She felt tears begin to fill up her eyes. Miko... She stifled her crying and turned her attention back to the people in front of her.

The blue boy knelt to face her. "Are you an airbender?"

Was she an airbender? What sort of question is that? "Of course I am," came the automatic reply. Ai-Li grimaced. She should have learned to take the Miko's advice and thought before she spoke.

"If you're an airbender, where are your tattoos?" Sokka pointed out. "You're story just doesn't add up. I think she's from the Fire Nation!" he accused. "Step away from her, Aang, she might be dangerous."

"No! Never!" Ai-Li defended. "I'm not from the Fire Nation! And I never will be!" She let anger drift into her voice. It really incensed her to be accused of being one of the monsters who tried to burn away her home.

"Sokka." The blue boy now had a name. "Maybe you should calm down; we don't know what's going on."

The young airbender held out his hand to her. "I'll help you up. We need to get you into the light."

Ai-Li stumbled to her feet with the help of the younger man. She felt dizzy and lightheaded from the trials of the day, which was only just beginning. She entered the empty sanctuary room and nearly collapsed onto the folds of red fabric in the middle of the room. She felt sick. She watched as Sokka ran to go get others by the order of the young airbender. She took the spare time to appraise herself and where she was.

The young airbender with the blue tattoos...

"Hi, I'm Aang." He stuck out his hand cheerfully.

"Ai-Li."

"And I'm Katara." The blue girl said.

They lapsed into silence. Ai-Li thought that perhaps they didn't want to say too much. Aang seemed to believe her, at least. Katara didn't show what she thought, but appeared to be friendly judging by her body language, and judging by how she reprimanded the blue boy, Sokka. Aang was also obviously an airbender. He held a staff secure to his body. He also wore the traditional garb of the Southern Air Monks. He had light boots and yellow pants and shirt, with a small orange coat overtop. Ai-Li instantly felt more at ease with a fellow airbender around, even if he was very young.

Katara, she noticed, was now fingering a blue pendant around her neck that looked to be a very precious stone. She was very a heavy, long, blue coat with white fur, clearly made for cold weather. Her hair was tied back into a braid, with blue stones on the sides of her forehead. She was very pretty, Ai-Li realized. If the monks had not taught her better, she would have been very jealous indeed. Her eyes were even a deep cerulean blue.

Ai-Li took the time to freely assess herself. She looked down at her hands. As she had thought, her tattoos were no longer there. Her hair was scraggly and untamed, she really needed a brush. She was still dressed in the light turquoise and yellow of the Northern Air Monks, but with her silk yellow slippers that Miko had given her for her last birthday. She smiled at that. Not everything was gone.

Sokka returned with a group of others. A young boy wheeling a chair, Ai-Li had never seen anything like that before, an older man with half burnt eyebrows, and what looked to be five other various Earth Kingdom citizens in green.

"Are those our gliders?!" Ai-Li shouted in alarm and pointed at them.

"They are," Aang answered. "But don't be angry at them like I was. They have the hearts and spirits of airbenders, even if they don't have the bending powers of one." he smiled kindly at the boy in the chair, who smiled back.

"She certainly looks like the drawings of airbenders in the temple." The man with the burnt eyebrows said. He scratched his chin. "Her clothing is certainly authentic."

"She could be a very well placed spy!" One of the men in green stated. Sokka nodded in agreement. The young man in the wheelchair and goggles rolled forward.

"There's no sense in arguing about this," he said.

"What do you propose, Teo?" Scraggly eyebrow man asked.

"There's no sense in arguing about this because there's one solid way of proving if she's telling the truth. Like when we first met Aang, he could tell we weren't really airbending because we glided. I say, we all go outside and give her a glider. If she only glides, she was lying, if she can really airbend, Aang will be able to tell." Aang nodded happily to this agreement. Ai-Li stood up from the pile of red cloth.

"Than we have an accord! A test to see who's telling the truth!" scraggly eyebrow man shouted triumphantly. Sokka nodded glumly.

The strange group slowly processed out of the sanctuary. Ai-Li stared sadly at the walls in the great hall. They were scarred with many pipes and tubes that shot out hot air into her face. The great statue by the fountain now belched smoky air that smelled acrid. She sniffed and plugged her nose. This place was a shell of what it once was. There were various knobs and cogs littering the temple's high walls that Ai-Li didn't understand. Lanterns hung from the high ceilings, and instead of clear water in the fountain, a strange green sludge leeched from it that boiled and bubbled.

The reached the outside and she breathed in the familiar air. There were the same statues on the pavilions, same swirls on the ground, same spiraling towers... this was her home, even if the inside had undergone some... extreme redecorating. She turned to the young airbender.

"Here," he said bashfully, "you can use my staff."

"Aang!" Sokka shouted in protest.

The young man held out his brown staff hopefully. Ai-Li took it, careful not to bump it on the ground. It was a high quality orange glider. She swung it over her head to open it. It was curved at the bottom, as opposed to the square gliders of the Northern Air Temple. The oak wood has small swirls in it. It was simple, and yet sacred. The staff of what must have been a powerful bender. Ai-Li smiled at the young boy who smiled back.

"Well," he said, "Get on with it."

Ai-Li took a deep breath. She started with a run toward the edge and swung the glider over the edge.

"See!" Sokka shouted, "I told you! I... told... you..."

Ai-Li took a leap of the edge and disappeared into the abyss.

"Where'd she go?" Katara asked Aang, who shrugged his shoulders.

Swiftly, Ai-Li shot out into the sky on top of Aang's glider, controlling the wind with her hands and the glider with her feet and knees. Aang laughed happily and punched the air. "She really is an airbender!" Ai-Li appreciated the wind soaring by. The rush of the currents made her spirit soar, she never wanted to leave her place in the sky. Reluctantly, she turned to land.

"I can't believe it!" Aang jumped and pulled her into a tight hug. "Another airbender! I'm _not_ alone! Do you hear that, Katara? I'm not alone!"

"Congratulations Aang." Katara patted him on the shoulder and tugged him off of Ai-Li who was slightly flustered.

"Wait... what do you mean you're not alone?" Ai-Li asked, a look past between everyone on the pavilion.

"Well..." Aang scratched his bald head hesitantly.

_Later..._

"Let me get this straight." Ai-Li said, "You're the Avatar." She pointed at Aang, who nodded. "You two found him in an iceberg while you were fishing." Katara and Sokka nodded. "Aang is... _was _the last airbender, also the Avatar, the world has been at war with the Fire Nation for the past one hundred years, you're being chased by an exiled prince, and you're headed for the North Pole to find a waterbending master for Aang and possibly Katara, who is also a waterbender." She raised her eyebrows. "Do these things happen to you often?"

"You have no idea," Sokka said as Momo, the lemur, stole a few cherries from his hands.

"And one hundred years ago, you were launched into a spirit portal that sent you to the future to revive the airbender race, which was presumed extinct," Katara reiterated. "And you're a grandmaster airbender."

"Well... yes," Ai-Li shrugged, "In a nutshell."

"This is great! I thought _I_ was the last airbender," Aang said happily.

"And they told _me_ that the Avatar was thought dead." A look of shame passed over Aang's face. "Look, it doesn't matter, what does matter is that you're not dead. You're alive! You're a symbol of hope for everyone." She paused. "I would be honored if I could join you on your quest and help you however I can."

She bowed to Aang, who sat and blushed.

"Sure," Katara smiled. "We'd love to have you along." Nearby a candle began to spark once. "But we need to get moving, so if you're coming with, you need to get ready fast."

Ai-Li nodded and was led out toward the pavilion for the second time, except in this instance; there was a great fluffy white sky bison. "This is Appa." Aang introduced the gentle beast. Ai-Li smiled and nodded. She ran up to hug the side of one of the legendary flying buffalo; she snuggled into Appa's fur. He was softer than anything she had ever felt. Appa let out a snort and lay back down, seemingly adjusting to the new member of the group. "He likes you."

As Aang, Katara and Sokka rushed to get ready, Ai-Li clambered up a side set of stairs. She headed for her old room. She slid into the ancient and dusty room. It was grimy and the blankets seemed moldy now, but she slid open her old closet. She grabbed her old staff, painted in the light turquoise blue of the Northern Air Temple, and a belt that strapped the staff to her back. She stole down to Appa again.

"I'm ready." Aang nodded from atop of the sky bison's head. Sokka held down his hands. She grabbed on and was pulled onto the saddle. Katara sat across from her. She gripped the edges of the saddle as Aang flicked the reins wrapped round the bison's horns.

"Yip yip!"


	3. The North Pole

Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar: The Last Airbender

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Chapter Three: The North Pole

Ai-Li enjoyed the air whipping around her as they soared across the endless expanse of blue. The ocean seemed to stretch forever on all sides of them. They had already been traveling half a day. She hoped they weren't traveling in absolute silence because of her. Normally there must have been conversation between them all...

"So we know your story..." Katara started. "But what about you? We don't know anything about you, other than your name."

"Yeah," Aang turned around from the saddle. "Tell us about yourself. I can start, my favorite color is orange." He smiled goofily. "Your turn."

Ai-Li grinned at the light hearted nature of the monk. "Well... my favorite color is yellow."

"Blue," Katara said.

"Same here," said Sokka as he bit into a mango, Momo pointed to Sokka's boots. Ai-Li thought that meant his favorite color was brown, but can lemurs understand conversation?

"I grew up in the Northern Air Temple. A monk named Miko, nicknamed Miko the monsoon, took care of me. I was left there by my father, who gave me up in the night. I guess the monks found me and took care of me. I never knew my parents. I found I had airbending powers when I was four and managed to float a cookie to me. I've been training ever since. When I last turned sixteen I earned the name Ai-Li the Prodigy"

"It was the same for me," Aang said. "I grew up in the Southern Air Temple. Monk Gyatso was like a father to me too."

"Monk Gyatso!" Ai-Li exclaimed. "His name is very familiar. Miko used to quote him all the time... and his pie recipe was a favorite in the kitchen."

"Yeah, that sounds like Gyatso." Aang laughed.

"Sokka and I are from the Southern Water Tribe," explained Katara. "When I was eight, and Sokka was nine, our village was attacked by firebenders, they... they killed our mother. A few years after that our father and the men of our tribe left to help the Earth Kingdom fight off the Fire Nation, who've been expanding since the first appearance of Sozin's comet."

"You know about the comet! I knew I was forgetting something! Aang—"

"I know," Aang said glumly. "We contacted Avatar Roku, who told me everything about Sozin's comet, as it's called now. That's why we're headed for the North Pole. I need to master the other three elements by next summer, or else Fire Lord Ozai will be unstoppable."

"I understand," Ai-Li nodded. "And I think I can help you keep in touch with airbending, and maybe teach you a trick or two you don't know yet."

"Thanks!" Aang nodded in appreciation.

After opening up slightly, the rest of the group had no trouble conversing from that point on. Ai-Li learned a lot about the personalities around her, and the stories they had to tell.

Katara she seemed to get along well with. She was mature and responsible, a voice of reason amongst the other boys. She told Ai-Li about her Gran-Gran and her necklace, and the story of the waterbending scroll she found. Ai-Li also learned about two other boys named Jet and Haru. Katara also had the rare ability to heal with her waterbending; Ai-Li could see where that might come in handy. Katara told her about Aang's failed attempt at firebending and Jeong Jeong the Deserter. Ai-Li could see how Katara made a few mistakes, but all around was very caring and sometimes mother like.

Aang was fun. He was the Avatar, but you wouldn't know it from the lighthearted twelve year old in front of her. Aang told her all about his adventures with King Bumi, past and present. Aang told Ai-Li about the Avatar State, his few adventures into the spirit world. Ai-Li shared her story in the spirit world about the Monk Lu.

The day passed rather pleasantly.

The next day, not so much.

"I'm not one to complain..." Sokka began. Ai-Li had learned recently that Sokka was in fact, one to complain. He ate too much, he told bad jokes, he was a little sexist... but he was a great friend. "But can't Appa fly any higher?"

"I have an idea!" Aang snapped back, "Why don't we all get on your back and _you _can fly us to the North Pole."

"I'd love to," Sokka said with relish. "Climb on everyone! Sokka's ready for take-off."

Ai-Li snorted as Momo climbed onto Sokka's back and chattered.

"Look, we're all just a little tired and cranky because we've been flying for two days straight," Katara explained from her spot lying on the saddle. Ai-Li shivered in the cold air.

"And for what?" Sokka asked. "We can't even find the Northern Water Tribe. There's nothing up here."

"We must be getting close, since the air is so freezing." Ai-Li drew her turquoise robe closer around her.

Abruptly ice grew out of the water at them. Aang let out a yell and steered Appa away from the ice. Appa growled and turned. Ai-Li grabbed her staff and held it in the defensive stance. Katara and Sokka hung onto the edge for dear life and screamed as Appa took an unexpected turn, ice hit one of the sky bison's back paws and sent them spiraling out of control and into the water. Ice came at them again and froze them in place. From all around them boats led by waterbenders encompassed the area.

"They're waterbenders!" Katara said. "We found the watertribe!"

Later that night Ai-Li sat in the grand hall of the Northern Water Tribe listening to the speech given by the chief. She and Katara were amazed at how many waterbenders there were at the North Pole. They would have no trouble at all finding a master to teach Aang and Katara. She sat in between Katara and Aang at a place of honor. She knelt with her staff close at hand. She felt so foreign in this place, so centered on the moon and the ocean spirits. She wasn't used to the drums and the smoke. But she appreciated them all the same.

Ai-Li faintly heard herself introduced as a grandmaster of airbending. Aang was introduced as the Avatar; he waved bashfully at the large crowd. Ai-Li saw Princess Yue for the first time. She watched with awe and constructive criticism as Master Pakku and his students performed. The Master was flawless; the students hesitated a little in their movements. She did not know how she could tell; she assumed it was possibly one of the grandmaster's memories within her finally coming about.

Ai-Li stifled her laughter as she watched Sokka flirt hopelessly with the Princess. Katara laughed with her.

"_Very_ smooth, Sokka," Katara joked.

"I know _I_ would be lost without the Prince's fine leadership," Ai-Li jibed.

"Quiet." Sokka stuffed his mouth full of food.

The next day as Katara and Aang went to meet with Master Pakku. Ai-Li left to explore the city. There were several major levels all built the Pole. Ai-Li saw so many different shades of blue as she walked around the central market it made her head hurt. She kept her glider strapped to her back. Many of the children wanted to know more about airbending. She spent the majority of the morning telling old tales about her exploits with her friends in the Northern Water Temple.

When she was free to go, she had gathered a good idea about where things were in the tribe. She had found a healing tent full of women, on the western side of the city. On the Southern side near the ocean were various fishing ports and food shops that she stopped at for lunch. In the center of the city was a populated artist's district with ice sculptures and jewelry. Master Pakku was located at the top of the city, and on the Eastern side were the armory and other defensive and offensive buildings for the army.

Ai-Li caught up with Sokka lying soaked on the street side.

"What happened to you, your highness?" Ai-Li poked the side of his face with her staff.

"Yue and I are going to do an activity..." he said dreamily. Ai-Li thought she saw drool coming from his mouth. "We're meeting tonight on the bridge," he pointed.

"That's great, Sokka," Ai-Li said carelessly. "Have fun."

"You too."

Ai-Li left him there. Sokka could take care of himself. She found Katara walking contemplatively toward the palace.

"Katara!" She ran to catch up to her female friend. "How was your first lesson? As great as you'd hoped?"

"No," Katara said surprisingly. "Master Pakku refuses to teach me because I'm a girl. All the women who can waterbend here are forced to learn healing instead. It's because of their stupid customs and their stupid traditions!"

"But... you've done so much to get here!" Ai-Li said, recalling the story of the waterbending scroll. "They can't just turn you away without an explanation!"

"They did," Katara said coldly. "Master Pakku sent me to take lessons from Yagoda, the healer. Apparently she recognized my necklace. She knew my Gran-Gran from when she was younger! She fingered her necklace and let me take a closer look. My grandmother was engaged to a young waterbender before she left the North Pole. I wonder why she never told me before."

"Maybe it was something very personal."

"I guess..." Katara trailed off. "It's not fair. I came all this way. I thought I would never become a waterbender, and then Aang gave me so much hope. This was my one chance, and Master Pakku threw it all back in my face. He's so callous."

Ai-Li hoped to take Katara's mind off of all that was happening; she took her on the same tour that she herself had taken earlier. They marveled at the Northern Water Tribe's way of surviving in the harsh tundra. Ai-Li hoped it was enough of a distraction for her friend. They found Sokka carving something out of a piece of wood later. Together the three of them found Aang for dinner. Sokka disappeared for a while and came back distraught. Ai-Li listened to him rant about the Princess.

Katara groaned as Sokka asked about training. She collapsed on her sleeping mat.

"Why don't you just teach her Aang?" Sokka intoned.

"Why didn't I think of that!" Katara's eyes filled with light. "At night you can teach me whatever learns you move from Master Pakku!"

"Did Sokka just say something intelligent?" I asked Momo. He chattered back.

"That way you have someone to practice with," she pointed at Aang, "and I get to learn waterbending! Everyone's happy!"

"I'm not happy," Sokka said from the floor. Momo and I looked at each other.

Katara and Aang left the room to go practice by the water. Leaving Sokka and Ai-Li to blow out the lamps and call it a night. Ai-Li stared at the ceiling. She had to get some bending practice in at sometime. Miles away, they were unaware that a Prince's ship had just blown up and an army led by two generals had finally left bay.

"What do you want me to do?" Ai-Li heard a voice say in the great hall of the palace. She hadn't been able to sleep so she had snuck out of their room in the middle of the night, or morning, she hadn't a clue what time it was. No one was in the room she left anyway, she wondered where they were. "...Force Master Pakku to take Aang as a student?"

_Wait? What?_ She scrambled to the doorway to see many of the Northern Water Tribe's officials sitting as Katara, Sokka and Aang stood in front of them. They seemed to be having a meeting. _Oh no, _Ai-Li thought, _they've been caught! If Master Pakku won't teach Aang, how will he master the water element? _She ran into the hall.

"Yes!" Katara lifted her shoulders, "Please."

"I suspect he might change his mind," the chief continued, "if you swallow your pride and apologize to him." Master Pakku's face was emotionless. Katara seemed enraged though. She narrowed her eyes and Aang looked on with trepidation. But she suddenly turned and looked at Aang.

She swallowed. "Fine," and turned back to Master Pakku.

"I'm waiting, little girl," Master Pakku said with unmasked satisfaction. Ai-Li grimaced. _Definitely the wrong choice of words... _She watched as Katara's knuckles turned white.

"No!" She raised her voice at the waterbending master. "No way am I apologizing to a sour old man like you!" With each phrase her hands flung in exasperation and the ground beneath her began to crack. The vases next to the committee shattered and water poured from each of them.

"Uh..." Aang began, "Katara?"

"I'll be outside if you're man enough to fight me," Katara challenged. The council gasped, Pakku seemed to set his chin at her defiance. Katara spun on her heel and left the hall. Aang, Sokka and I watched her leave.

"I'm sure she didn't mean that..." Aang pointed behind him.

"Yeah," Sokka sighed, "I think she did."

Sokka, Aang and Ai-Li struggled to catch up to Katara who was marching down the palace steps with newfound determination.

"Are you crazy, Katara?" Sokka said as he caught up to her. "You're not going to win this fight!"

"I know!" She yelled in frustration at her brother. She tossed her coat into his arms. "I don't care!"

"You don't have to do this for me," Aang explained. "I can find another teacher."

"I'm not doing it for you!" Katara explained. "Someone needs to slap some sense into that guy."

"Katara needs to do this for her own honor, Aang." Ai-Li put a hand on his shoulder. "This has very little to do with you."

"So you decided to show up?" Katara spun to confront the old master as he strode down the palace steps. He walked straight down the stairs and passed her. "Aren't you going to fight?!" She yelled incredulously.

"Go back to the healing huts with the other women," he said cockily, "where you belong."

Ai-Li saw a look of frustration she had never seen before cross Katara's face as she summoned a water whip from the ground. She smacked him across the back of the head. Ai-Li brought Sokka and Aang back before the fight began too quickly. She could sense the tension in the air, she could have cut it with her staff. Pakku stopped

"Fine!" His voice echoed across the courtyard. He turned to face her. "You want to learn to fight so badly? Study closely," He mocked her.

The fight ensued. He summoned the water from the fountains around him, Katara ran at an angle to attack him from the side. He crouched down and sent the water at her full force. "Augh!" Katara yelled. She hit the ground and her head spun to follow the trail of water spinning around Pakku. He encircled them both and Katara found herself creeping closer and closer to the old Master as he continued to bend.

"Don't worry," he said confidently, "I'm not going to hurt you." Katara stumbled even further into the circle. With one arm she dispelled the water away from them. She ran at him again with a water whip. He summoned an ice wall in front of him. She slide overtop his head and landed on one of the palace rails. Pakkku melted the wall in back of him, and swung the water at Katara. She twisted her feet into ice and deflected the water.

"You can't knock me down!" Katara said insolently.

The group around Ai-Li cheered. She found herself cheering too. "Go, Katara!" Aang yelled. Katara charged at Master Pakku. He summond an ice wall in front of him, Katara turned in to water and delivered a few blows to him. He dodged and finally threw her off with water. She grunted and landed in the fountain. Pakku smiled triumphantly. Katara appeared again though, and summoned a block of ice. She took slices from the top and flung them at Pakku, who dodged closely. Katara swung water around her head and hurled it at the Master. He twisted it around himself and created a wave behind him whilst Katara ran at him again. He threw the water at her, and she fell back again.

Katara lay panting on the ground, Ai-Li silently sent a prayer to the moon spirit for her to get up. She shot from the ground and pulled the pillars by each side of Master Pakku down. He turned them to powdery snow before they hit. "Well," he said, "I'm impressed. You are an excellent waterbender."

"But you still won't teach me, will you?" She panted.

"No."

Katara pulled water from the ground around her. She sent a wave at him, which he leapt over. He stood atop a block of ice and headed straight for her. She sent another blast of water at him. He curved his path around her using ice and knocked her down. Ai-Li watched, almost in slow motion, as Katara's necklace was tossed to the ground. Pakku spun onto the fountain ledge as Katara knelt on the ground. He summoned water into the air and imprisoned Katara in a cell of icicles.

She pulled and struggled against her constraints. "This fight is over," said Pakku decisively as he walked past.

"Come back here!" Katara shouted. "I'm not finished yet."

"Yes," Pakku replied conceitedly. "You are." He looked at the ground in shock. With his hands he picked up Katara's necklace. He held it up to the light. "This is my necklace," his voice echoed amazement.

"No it's not, it's mine!" Katara retorted. "Give it back!"

"I made this sixty years ago!" He whispered. "For the love of my life," his eyes looked distant, "for Kana."

"My Gran-Gran was supposed to marry you?" Katara was astounded.

"Weird stuff happens to you guys all the time," I muttered into Aang's ear.

Katara was freed from her icicle prison by Ai-Li who released an air slice and shattered the frost. She stood behind Pakku and listened to him mutter.

"I carved this necklace for your grandmother when we got engaged." Pakku closed his eyes, as if in pain. "I thought we would have a long happy life together." He looked to the skies, "I loved her."

"But she didn't love you," Katara completed for him, "Did she? It was an arranged marriage."

Sokka and Yue looked on with sadness and understanding. Ai-Li felt awash with emotion she didn't understand... and sympathy for the bitter old waterbending master.

"Gran-Gran wouldn't let her tribe's stupid customs run her life," Katara spoke out. She walked over to Pakku. "That's why she left! It must have taken a lot of courage." She whispered the last part to herself more than to anyone else.

Yue began to cry and ran from the courtyard. Her father looked on, distressed and surprised. "Go get her," Aang said to Sokka, who happily ran after the Princess.

Later in the day, Master Pakkku finally accepted Katara as his student. She would soon become his most prized pupil. Ai-Li joined them in the practice arena; she sparred with the younger students on break. That was when she was most surprised during the day. Yes, she had been a prodigy as a youth, but it did not count for her skill now. The grandmasters had truly passed on all of their skills. She felt Tan's judgement in her mind, and Wei's creativity flow threw her. But it wasn't them anymore, it was a part of her.

As she sparred she wondered as the power she felt. She had missed airbending, although it might have only been a few day since she last used air, it felt like centuries. She felt an influx of knowledge come to her. Suddenly, she was unstoppable. And oddly, she wasn't afraid anymore. If her mission was to help the Avatar, she had better practice. Later, after lessons with Pakku had ended, she and Aang meditated under the sinking sun.

Everything was exactly as it should be...

Ai-Li tied up her red hair into a tight, no-nonsense bun as she watched Katara trump yet another student. She watched Aang roll around on the ground and groaned. She knew airbenders were carefree and sometimes a little immature, but she had thought the Avatar would take his responsibilities a bit more seriously. "Aang, you only have until summer to master the four elements, perhaps you should pay more attention to what's going on." Ai-Li thought it might be the old monks inside of her that made her grow so irritated. "You could at least try."

"I will, Ai-Li." Aang said as he laughed, "In a minute."

"Pupil Aang!" Master Pakku commanded. Ai-Li watched in amusement as the older man reprimanded the young monk. She fingered her staff and wondered if a lesson would ensue. Perhaps then she could have a match with Katara. Or maybe she should take Appa for a flight; he might be getting neglected with all the hype going on. Momo flew to rest on her shoulder away from the angry master. She smiled and patted his large bat ears.

She watched as Aang made a snowman out of herself and groaned for the second time. She liked Aang the kid, not Aang the student. This wouldn't end well. Momo knocked into Aang. Pakku shook his head remorsefully. Ai-Li sighed; it was going to be a long day. She saw Appa flying in the distance, well; at least he got to get out.

As a lesson began to ensue around her, she sat on the ground and began her meditation. Breathe in. Breathe out. Block out annoying voices. Let the world fade away. Her vision slowly slipped into blackness as she reached a state of inner peace and harmony...

... This was abruptly ended. Aang's laughter stopped suddenly. Ai-Li felt a wave of confusion and fear wash over her. What was going on? She pulled herself from her trance. Black snow... soot mixed with the clouds above. She opened her eyes. Momo was licking the foul stuff off of his tongue. The students and Master Pakku all looked to the sky in confusion. Katara looked with understanding and fear.

The fountains around them turned black. The Fire Nation was coming.

Alarm drums began to beat from several of the high towers and members of the watertribe headed either for shelter, or for the great hall where the chief and others were gathering. Ai-Li ran for the hall with many of the other waterbender, Aang, Katara and Master Pakku.

The chief began to speak. "The day we have feared for so long has arrived..."

Ai-Li felt a shiver run up her spine. A strange sense of déjà-vu entered her mind. This felt far too much like when the Northern Air Temple was attacked. Far, far too similar circumstances surrounded them, the soot in the sky, and the gathering to discuss what to do. She remembered Miko's inspirational words. _"They can never take our spirits..." _If that day was one hundred years in the past, why was she reliving it now?

"...Some of these faces are about to vanish from our tribe. But they will _never_ vanish from our hearts. Now as we approach the battle for our existence..." Ai-Li closed her eyes and looked away. "Not again..." she whispered to herself. Aang put a friendly hand on her shoulder and squeezed. Her fear vanished. It was replaced with determination. Perhaps this is her chance for redemption. Her chance to fight off the Fire Nation like she never got to.

"Count me in!" Sokka said determinedly in front of her. She zoned back into the conversation. She watched as many young warriors, and old, volunteered and received the chief's mark. She saw the longing gaze pass between him and the Princess. Resolve came to Ai-Li; she had to defend her new friends, her new family. It was just so... sad.

Ai-Li perched next to Aang, both with staff's in hand.

"The stillness before battle is unbearable," said the chief as he approached both Ai-Li and Aang, "such a quiet dread."

"I wasn't there when the Fire Nation attacked my people," Aang replied, lost in thought.

"I was," said Ai-Li, "I was there for every agonizing minute." She was surprised at how cold her own voice sounded. "They attacked without warning in the night. The battle lasted for three days. I was not there for the third, but I know the fate of my home now." She bowed her head. "This is our chance Aang, as airbenders. This is our second chance. Many people aren't gifted such an opportunity. We should be thankful."

"This time," Aang stood and gazed at the sun, "I'm going to make a difference."

"And this time," Ai-Li repeated, "I'm not going to disappear."

As the Northern Water Tribe readied and armed themselves for battle. Aang roosted on Appa's back. Sokka, Katara and Ai-Li stood at his right, the chief stood at his immediate left. Around them waterbenders and soldiers alike stood waiting for the oncoming army to appear. One ship materialized on the horizon, it sent a single fire ball at the great city. It hit the city and shattered a segment of the outer wall. Ai-Li swung her staff into the air and mounted it; she left her hands free to airbend. Another fireball destroyed one of the inner cities bridges before she or Aang could react.

She heard Appa take off beside her, she did the same riding slightly underneath the great buffalo. She and Aang intercepted or deflected as many fireballs as they could. As she stayed in the sky, Aang landed on the solitary ship and dispatched as many Fire Nations soldiers as possible. Ai-Li watched him out of the corner of her eye, she saw him dodge some deadly attacks before destroying the catapult onboard with air. She smiled proudly. Ai-Li watched him wreak havoc on the other catapults while she watched for possible fireballs in the sky.

She diverted her eyes from the fight after the waterbenders froze the ship in the water. She felt her eyes go wide, there were hundreds of ships approaching! Ai-Li spun as many fireballs into each other as she could, but there were hundreds. She was thankful when Master Pakku joined the defense. On her glider she pulled a piece of information from another part of her distant memory. When the next batch of fireballs came she sent them back at their owners.

Ai-Li noticed the sky growing dark, only another advantage for them. Not only were the waterbenders on the defensive side, but with the moon in the sky, the Fire Nation would not be able to reach past the outer walls. Unfortunately, that was when the attack stopped.

Ai-Li landed back on the ground. She sent a funnel of frustration at the looming ships. Aang landed near her, they were met by Katara and Princess Yue.

"I can't do it!" Aang said in despair. He clutched his head in his hands mournfully. "I can't do it..."

"What happened?"

"I must have taken out a dozen fire navy ships, but there's just too many of them." Aang explained. "I can't fight them all!"

"But..." Yue clasped her hands, "you have to! You're the Avatar."

"I'm just one kid..." Aang said with large eyes.

"You're not alone." Ai-Li knelt next to him. "I'll help whenever I can and I'll do whatever I can." Katara joined her in comforting Aang.

The rest of the night was torture. Ai-Li could not sleep, she could only walk, back and forth, back and forth along the wall. Under the moon, which was nearly full, she knew that the Fire Nation navy would not approach. But sleep would not come to her, there was nothing else she could do. At least she had the company of Aang, Katara and the Princess.

"Our ancestors say the moon was the first waterbender," Yue interrupted her pacing. "Our ancestors saw how it pushed and pulled the tides, and learned how to do it themselves."

"I've always noticed my waterbending is stronger at night." Katara chimed in as it dawned on her the moon's power.

Yue nodded. "Our strength comes from the spirit of the moon. Our life comes from the spirit of the ocean. They work together to keep balance."

"The spirits!" Aang said suddenly and jumped from his place slouched on the balcony. "Maybe I can find them and get their help."

"How can you do that?" Yue asked.

"The Avatar is the bridge between our world and the spirit world." Katara explained with her hand on Aang's shoulder.

"He keeps balance and harmony between the two." Ai-Li chimed in.

"Aang can talk to them!" Katara exclaimed.

"Maybe they'll give you the wisdom to win this battle." Yue said hopefully.

"Or maybe they'll unleash a crazy-amazing spirit attack on the Fire Nation!" Aang gestured wildly with his hands. Everyone stared. "Or wisdom... that's good too."

"The only problem is..." Katara started, "the last time you got to the spirit world completely on accident. How are you going to get there this time?"

"Meditation would take days to achieve a bridge between the two worlds, Aang," Ai-Li warned, "We don't have days to win this battle. By morning the attack will continue like before."

"I have an idea," Yue said cryptically. "Follow me."

Yue led Aang, Katara and Ai-Li toward the top of the palace and out onto a hidden pavilion. The followers looked around in confusion. She stopped before a small wooden door. "So is this the way to the spirit world?" Aang asked as he approached the door.

Yue laughed. "No, you'll have to get there on your own. But I can take you to the most spiritual place in the entire North Pole." She swung open the door, which yielded to her touch with a noisy creak.

Aang stepped in and stood in the way of Ai-Li's view. He ran in laughing. Katara, Yue and Ai-Li followed closely after. Ai-Li gaped. There was green grass, and a waterfall, with trees and a pond! She instantly felt her joints and bones warm under the change in temperature. "I never thought I'd miss grass this much!" Aang shouted and rolled onto the ground. "It's so warm here," Katara said with wonder. "How is that possible?" Ai-Li hugged herself and grinned. She missed the temperate weather farther south. Katara shed her heavy winter coat.

"It's the center of all spiritual energy in our land."

Ai-Li stared into the pond. Koi fish! Beautiful black and white koi fish swam lethargically in circles. Momo stuck his hand, attempting to catch one; he stopped when he felt the disapproving looks from Yue and Katara come his way. Momo leapt away and onto Ai-Li's shoulders, she gazed into the pond appreciatively.

"You're right, Yue..." Aang looked around. "I can feel... something... It's so... tranquil." He sat down on the grass and settled into a meditative position. Ai-Li nodded in approval. Ai-Li waited. Surely Aang would go into the Avatar state, or into the spirit world, or whatever it was that Aang did to save the day. She might have been relying on him too much, but at the moment, she didn't care. "Why is he sitting like that?" Yue asked obliviously.

"He's meditating," Katara explained in a whisper, "Trying to cross over into the spirit world. It takes all of his concentration."

"Is there anyway we can help—"

"How about some quiet?!" Aang cried out. "Come on, guys, I can hear every word you're saying!"

Yue snapped her mouth shut. Ai-Li put her hands on her hips at Aang's outburst. Katara just shrugged and fell silent. The Koi fish continued their loop in the center of the pond. A wind passed over the small oasis. Ai-Li felt a chill. Aang's tattoos and eyes began to glow an unearthly blue. Ai-Li heard Yue exclaim beside her, and Katara explain that this was Aang as he was in the spirit world. Ai-Li guessed that his body was left behind.

"I'm going to check on the situation outside." Ai-Li rubbed her forehead and tightened the chopsticks holding her bun together. "I'll take Yue back. I just don't want any sneak attacks to escape my notice. I'm sure you both think I'm incredibly paranoid." She grinned.

Yue smiled and allowed her to be led back. As Ai-Li closed the door behind her she heard Katara say something. "I'll watch over Aang, I'm perfectly capable of watching over my friend on my own." Ai-Li smiled and closed the door. She didn't hear the retort from the shadow on the wall. She didn't know that she had just missed the sneak attack she had been sensing all night long. She led Yue back and stared at the looming threat in the ocean, thinking that all she had to protect was being protected.

She never met the exiled Prince.


	4. Koi Fish

Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar: The Last Airbender

* * *

Chapter Four: Koi Fish

Yue and Ai-Li watched along with the rest of the Northern Water Tribe as the sun rose. And this time, they couldn't forestall the ships long enough. Several made it to the outer wall and docked. Firebenders and Fire Nation soldiers commenced raiding the outer ring with loud battle cries. Ai-Li prepared to defend the city with her glider, but was stopped by a hand on her shoulder.

"Katara!" The watertribe girl was panting with exertion, tears filled her eyes.

"Zuko!" She said. "He took Aang! He took Aang from right out in front of me." Her eyes glistened.

"Where did they go?!" Ai-Li asked in fear. "It's frozen ice and tundra all around us!" Her mind raced furiously.

"I don't know!" Katara cried. "I was knocked out. Zuko pushed me up against a tree. When I woke up they were both gone, there was no trace of either of them!"

"Come on," Ai-Li grabbed her hand and pulled her along, "We have to find Sokka and Yue. We'll fly Appa around and search for him. The battle can wait, Aang is far more important. Besides, if Aang doesn't find his body when he returns..."

"He'll be stuck in the spirit world." Katara whispered in terror.

"Let's go!"

It took no time at all to locate Sokka and Yue. With tears in her eyes Katara retold her story. In another few seconds they mounted Appa. Sokka took the reins in his hands. "Yip, yip." They took off from the palace. They soared over the spirit shrine, Ai-Li glanced at Momo below, still keeping guard and watching the Koi fish swim slow circles in the pond. She wondered if he was _really_ hunting them, or protecting them. Ai-Li pulled her coat around her when she felt the arctic breeze hit her face. This was going to be a long cold ride.

They searched for hours on end in the blistering cold, but if Aang and Zuko ever traveled through it, the wind would have covered their tracks long ago. Needless, she continued to peer over the edge and squint into the snow and wind. She sent a silent prayer toward the city behind them, only hoping that they might hold out long enough for them to find Aang. She knew that the city was built like an icy fortress, but the Fire Nation was ruthless, and they taught their soldiers to act the same way.

"Don't worry!" Yue said to Katara, "Prince Zuko can't be getting too far in this weather."

"I'm not worried they'll get away in the blizzard." Katara turned her head. "I'm worried that they won't."

Ai-Li shuddered. She couldn't imagine walking all this way in these temperatures. She would have frozen a long time ago in her clothing from the air temple, which was far too thin.

"They're not going to die in this blizzard," Sokka interrupted. "If we know anything, it's that Zuko never gives up. They'll survive, and we'll find them."

That hope seemed slightly ludicrous now, Ai-Li realized. How could anyone survive out here? No, she shook her head, Sokka was right. They weren't going to die. They were going to find them and take Aang back. She only hoped he was still in his meditative state, and they could get him back to the spring in time. Maybe they could pretend this whole fiasco never happened. But what would they do once they found Zuko? Ai-Li wasn't sure how much airbending she could do. The wind was so powerful, and her hands were so stiff and cold. She could barely grip her staff. She instantly desired warm mittens like Katara had.

Ai-Li saw a flash of bright blue light speed past them. Katara saw it to. She shouted and pointed.

"Look! That's got to be Aang!" To Appa she said, "Yip yip!"

They tunneled downward in the air; Ai-Li's knew her shivers would stop her from dismounting. She saw the blue light travel into a small hidden rock lean-to. They never would have seen that if Aang's spirit hadn't appeared. She thanked whatever spirits that were looking after them in earnest. Soon this would all be over. She saw Aang fly out of the tiny cave. She smirked inwardly; at least he was putting up a fight. She saw him try to caterpillar away from Zuko, who was only a blurry figure.

Katara slid off of the saddle when they finally landed. A fuzzy Katara quickly dispatched the even more blurry Zuko. Ai-Li lay her head down next to Yue. The Princess finally noticed her distress, she slid off her larger overcoat and threw it over Ai-Li, who smiled gratefully and burrowed into the furry warmth. She saw Aang sitting on Appa's head.

"Wait," Aang said, reins in hand. "We can't just leave him here."

"Sure we can." Sokka said. Ai-Li was inclined to agree.

"No." Aang said with fervor. "If we leave him, he'll die." Aang flew from the saddle and out of Ai-Li's view. He flew back on with the teenage prince slung over his shoulders. Ai-Li tried to get a good look of him, but her neck refused to co-operate, she could only shiver. Zuko's face remained obscured from her. She saw a topknot. At least that was all she needed to identify him, who wears topknots anymore? If it wasn't popular one hundred years ago, it certainly wasn't now.

They traveled back to the oasis with startling speed from Appa; even with all his fur it seemed he didn't like the blizzard either. That was when the moon turned blood red. Ai-Li gaped as a red shadow passed over all the night sky. It was eerie, it was creepy, and something felt downright wrong.

"Ah," Yue gripped her head painfully.

"Are you okay?" Sokka held her shoulders.

"I feel faint." Yue moaned. Her head bent lower.

"I feel it too," Aang was also holding his head tenderly, "the moon spirit is in trouble."

Ai-Li gazed at the sky apprehensively, she couldn't agree more.

"I owe the moon spirit my life." Yue said quietly. All eyes turned to her.

"What do you mean?" Sokka asked.

"When I was born..." Yue recounted. "I was very sick and very weak." She stared at the ground. "Most babies cry when they're born, but I was born as if I were asleep, my eyes closed. Our healers did everything they could. They told my mother and father I was going to die. My father pleaded with the spirits to save me."

"That night beneath the full moon he brought me to the oasis and placed me in the pond. My dark hair turned white, I opened my eyes and began to cry," Ai-Li knew there was a reason for her chalky hair. "And they knew I would live. That's why my mother named me Yue, for the moon." She ended her story in a whisper.

Ai-Li wondered the significance of this. Was a part of the moon in Yue? Why was she so affected by its red state? Aang, she understood, he was the Avatar, and all things spiritual affected him. Yue was the Princess. They returned to the oasis, only to find some unwelcome guests. Zhao. Ai-Li slid off of the saddle silently with the rest of them. The guards and the general were distracted by an attacking Momo, who flew over to Aang when he dismounted. Ai-Li knew that lemur was smarter than it looked.

Aang and Ai-Li raised their staffs. Ai-Li felt her strength return with the warm temperature. Sokka unsheathed his boomerang and Katara drew a water whip from the pond water.

"Don't bother." Zhao stated, and he held a fist up to the bag that was wriggling. Ai-Li felt her eyes narrow. The Koi fish!

"Zhao!" Aang dropped his staff and held up his hands. "Don't." He said.

"It's my destiny," Zhao replied, "to destroy the moon, and the watertribe."

"Destroying the moon won't hurt just the watertribe," Aang pleaded calmly, "it will hurt everyone, including you." Zhao didn't seem moved by this. "Without the moon, everything would fall out of balance. You have no idea what kind of chaos that would unleash on the world!"

"He is right Zhao."

"General Iroh." Zhao replied to the unseen voice.

Ai-Li turned to see an older man in Fire Nation uniform approach. He had a purposeful stride, and he stroked his beard as he walked. "I'm no traitor Zhao; the Fire Nation needs the moon too. We all depend on the balance." Ai-Li nodded in agreement, but she was slightly surprised to see someone from the Fire Nation on their side. Maybe not all of them are bad. "...Whatever you do to that spirit!" Iroh threatened, "I'll unleash on you... tenfold! Let it go! Now!"

Ai-Li believed him. She did not believe what happened next. Zhao took on a defeated stance; he knelt to the ground and released the Koi fish into the pond. It slid into the water with a splash. Zhao took a step back and raised his hands up, his eyebrows furrowed in anger, and he dealt a deadly blow of fire to the white fish in the pond.

Ai-Li was in shock, how could he? The fire skimmed the edges of the pond, Ai-Li spun he staff to deflect it away from them.

She felt the light disappear from the sky. Iroh attacked Zhao with anger. The fire from his attacks sent Zhao stumbling backward. Regrettably, Zhao's soldiers intervened and while Iroh was busy taking them out, Zhao managed to sneak away. Ai-Li and the others approached the pond anxiously. The white Koi fish was still floating, dead; the Ocean Spirit was circling its lost mate.

Iroh gently picked the fish out of the water with careful hands. He closed his eyes with regret. "There's no hope now," Yue stated, "It's over."

"No, it's not over." Aang's voice was distorted, it seemed as if a thousand voices spoke at the same time with him. He began to glow that ethereal blue again. Ai-Li held Katara back.

Aang entered the pond. He stood at the center as the Ocean Spirit circled him. Ai-Li heard whispers in the wind. The whispers got louder, until they circled the oasis. Aang put his fist in his hand. Ai-Li watched the ripples he made grow larger. Light came from the water. Aang suddenly sunk as if a trapdoor had opened beneath him. The water splashed black. Light grew and spread around the pond and throughout the world around them.

The whispers grew to a singing in her ears. The water grew and took the form of a giant Koi fish. And Aang, she knew, was at its center. The Avatar's power combined with the Ocean Spirit was difficult to look at. The spirit moved through the city, Ai-Li could barely see its top. She would hear from various accounts later that the Ocean Spirit annihilated the rest of the Fire Nation navy and drowned Zhao into the ocean. They put up a pitiful fight against the angry spirit. Ai-Li was bitter when she thought he deserved much worse a fate.

As Aang delivered justice, Iroh gently laid the Koi fish back into the pond water. Ai-Li watched its lifeless body bob in the water.

"You have been touched by the moon spirit," Iroh said to Yue. "Some of its life is in you!"

_Oh no..._ Ai-Li understood now. Never do coincidences like that happen. Yue would have to give up what life was given to her by the moon spirit. Would she even survive? Why did they have to live in such a time? It was so unfortunate for Yue... and Sokka.

"Yes, you're right." Ai-Li noticed now, her eyes were bright, and her hair was white in the darkness. "It gave me life. Maybe I can give it back."

"No! You can't do that!" Sokka grabbed her hand and held her back. "I won't let you! Your father told me to protect you." He was clearly distressed.

"It's my duty, Sokka." Her hand slipped from his grasp. "I have to do this."

Ai-Li felt a cacophony of music fill her ears. It was sad, so, so sad. Why did every good thing that ever happened cost so much? Yue rested her hands lightly on the scarred body of the Koi fish. Light came from her hands, brighter than the light from Katara's hands when she healed, and wind blew her hair back. Yue let out a light moan and fell. "No!" Sokka caught her.

"She's gone..." he said, and held her tighter, "...She's gone."

Why is the price so high? Ai-Li wondered. Sokka lost Yue. Katara lost her mother. Aang lost his childhood. Ai-Li lost her home. It seemed as if there wouldn't be a world left to save by the end of all this. As Sokka held Yue, she vanished from their sight. Ai-Li gaped at where Yue used to lie. The Koi fish suddenly shed light on the oasis. Iroh dropped the fish back in the water.

The two Koi continued their dance around one another. Light from their circle spread to the outer edges of the pond. A thin silver glow leaked from the top. It took the form of Yue. She was glowing; her hair and clothing were flowing as if she was perpetually in water. "Goodbye, Sokka," her voice echoed. "I'll always be with you." She kissed him, just like that, and vanished again. It was as if she had never existed in the first place.

The moon returned to the sky.

Ai-Li stood next to Katara. They both surveyed the damage wrought in the last two days. The Northern Water Tribe was victorious, but at a heavy price. The chief and Master Pakku stood silently at the top of the stairs to the palace.

"I've decided to go to the South Pole," Pakku said solemnly. "Some other benders and healers want to join me. It's _time_ we helped to rebuild our sister tribe!" He turned to Katara.

"What about Aang?" she asked, and turned to the downtrodden monk sitting with his flying lemur. "He still needs to learn waterbending."

"Well." Pakku smiled. "Then he'd better get used to calling you _Master_ Katara."

Ai-Li was happy for her friend. It looked like her and the old master had finally settled all matters. And Aang was going to master waterbending. Nearby the chief and Sokka stood, watching the moon. Daybreak was upon them, and soon it would disappear from the sky altogether, until the next night, of course.

"The spirits gave me a vision, when Yue was born," the chief explained, his voice rough and croaky. "I saw a beautiful, brave, young woman become the moon spirit." He closed his eyes in pain. "I knew this day would come."

"You must be proud." Sokka said.

"So proud..." The chief replied, "...And sad."

Ai-Li stood and walked over to Aang. "Thank you," she said, and hugged him.

"For what?" he asked, not hesitating to return the embrace.

"For believing me at the Northern Air Temple," she replied. "Now I know what you guys have been avoiding, and you took a leap of faith by trusting in me. I don't know if I would have been able to do the same. And thank you for... for letting me follow you. I finally got the chance to fight the firebenders, like I wanted to one hundred years ago."

Aang laughed, "Well, airbenders should stick together; after all, you, me, Appa, and Momo are all that's left of our world." Ai-Li nodded in agreement and let the chattering lemur climb onto her shoulder.

"You're right, Aang." Ai-Li petted Momo on the head. "I'll never forget this, and I'll never forget you. I can't believe all this time I was destined to travel with the Avatar and we were meant to be friends. Fate has a funny way of playing with us."

"I'm glad it does," said Aang, he suddenly grinned. "Now it's time to celebrate our victory. I couldn't have done it without all of my friends." He looked at Katara.

Ai-Li watched them embrace. She saw the sun come up. It was the third day; nearly forty eight hours of fighting had gone on. She was still alive, and she was nowhere near any spirit portal. Ai-Li was exhausted. Ai-Li the _Prodigy_ was exhausted. Maybe she would go take a nap. Or buy a coat, it was really cold here.


End file.
